Inverness fundraiser cuts off his locks in aid of Highland Hospice
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A promise came back to haunt an Inverness charity dance show contestant – forcing him to submit to the clippers.
When he promised to shave it like Beckham, Danny Murdoch should have known he was tempting fate.
The 2020 Strictly Inverness dance contender bent to workplace pressure to boost his Highland Hospice fundraiser by agreeing to take the clippers to his golden locks.
But the proviso was he would only do it if the football legend did the same and pals pledged another £500.
Sure enough, that very evening, the former England and Manchester United hero’s social media pages coincidently carried images of his latest head shave.
Donations shot up to £850, leaving financial planner Mr Murdoch with no choice but to take a scalping.
“I used to follow David Beckham’s haircuts when I was a boy,” he said. “It was a throwaway line on a work call, thinking it would never happen. But lo and behold, that evening I picked it up on Instagram that he had shaved his head.
“I was probably a bit precious about my hair beforehand and a lot of my mates have gone bald. I’ve mocked them for many years.
“When I told them about this, they were more than delighted. I thought while I was doing it I might as well see if I could raise some money. I was hoping £500 might have been over-shooting it and I wouldn’t have to do it, but honestly within an hour and 15 minutes we had over £700. I shaved it off that night.”
Amid the Covid-19 lockdown, Strictly Inverness, scheduled for next week, has been postponed until October.
Mr Murdoch (29) and Strictly partner Chloe Gordon are now working remotely to maintain preparations, with the help of dance instructor Claire Darcy.
“We can still practice some of the moves at home,” Mr Murdoch said. “The training process has been challenging.
“I was probably just getting to grips with it when the lockdown began. The fitness side is fine, but the learning of the steps was pretty tough at first.”
